I'm sorry guys... I won't have much time to run this, but I will give as much input as I can.
That's a good list Nick. I would agree that those are all important aspects of getting a good sound. Since I'm always having to get the most from non perfect situations, I can share what I believe gets the most bang for the buck.
The kit and tuning is the most important IMO. You can't make a silk purse from a sows ear (of whatever the phrase is...) A good sound from the kick and snare are essential - they determine the overall sound of the groove. There is always hope.
Kick - I believe in a vent / mic hole in the front head. About 8 inches in diameter is a nice starting point. The idea behind the hole in the head is only to provide a way to get the kick mic up near the beater side head. If the hole is too small, it's a pain to move the stand around to tweak the sound. If the hole is too large, it's like having no front head at all - and I believe in the front head for its resonance benefits. Oh, I usually have the front head fairly loose - just past visible wrinkles. I tune the beater side head fairly low also, but not too low that is all click. Last, a little damping with a small pillow or felt does the trick. YMMV
Snare - Anything works, it's all about the heads. For the snare side, the typical single ply head is right - tune it fairly tight and make sure it's in tune with itself. The stick side is artists choice, but make sure it's tuned correctly. Some that I have used and have had good results with are the REMO power stroke, or control sound, and lately I've been using an EVANS Genera coated head. I like a dry, snappy snare sound and that head does the trick.
Regarding the snare strainer, don't get fooled about the hype regarding strainer materials and strand count. The average steel 16 strand strainer is going to do the job. It just needs to be at the correct tightness. Too loose, and the sound is undefined and tends to have a long decay. Too tight, and the sound is choked. Starting from full loose, hit the drum and begin the tighten the strainer. You'll hear a point where the sound is at it's most articulate. Double stroke rolls are clearly defined. That's the tension (in my opinion) where the strainer needs to be.
If you find the snare is resonating with the toms and kick (excessively), you can try tuning the bottom head a bit tighter. On the other hand, it could be overly ringing toms. I would not recommend damping the bottom head. Properly tuned, there is no reason for that.
Toms - these can be a pain, agreed? I have tried lots of stuff to get a good tom sound. I like deep resonant sounds, so I tend to tune fairly low. Floppy heads sound like trash though, so you need to find the lowest tension the drum can tolerate - if you're also looking for the big tom sound. Again, there's so much silly hype on tuning the toms - perfect fourths, off notes in the song, whatever. Studio rings and or Moon gel work wonders to dampen excessive ringing.
I'm not going to go into great detail on mics because I believe the basics are established. Most of the drummers here understand the need for a proper kick drum mic, etc. Mic placement, however, is probably not too greatly understood. If you're going to use multiple mics on the kit, then you need to place them to maximize isolation. Every microphone has a specific pickup pattern. Cardioid, Omni, figure 8, etc. We'll assume that most of the mics in question are cardioid. An SM57, for example is a cardioid mic which means that the mic is most sensitive at the end. I side address condenser mic is most sensitive at the side. Why do you need to understand this? Because you want to aim the most UNSENSITIVE part (the null) of the mic at the next loudest thing near it. For example, when setting the mic on the snare, be careful to put the null facing the high-hat. If the snare mic is far enough away from the hi-hat, then make sure the null is facing the kick. Take the time to look at the pickup patterns supplied with the documentation of the mic. When you learn and understand the way the stuff works, it will help you place the mics for optimum isolation. There's nothing like a snare track that only has snare.
Don't be afraid to put the mic close to the head. In my opinion, 5 inches away is too far. I have my mics about an inch from the head, facing into the center on the drum shell. The kick mic is the exception, usually inside the shell (through the front head hole) about 5 inches away from the beater head midway between the beater and the rim
The placement of overheads seems to be a great mystery also. The overheads capture most of the natural sound of the drums. These mics by themselves should give you the typical sound of the kit. Generally, the pair is panned hard right and left. Store that for future reference. The sound of the typical drum kit features the kick and snare dead center, and the rest of the kit panned out in stereo. Keep this in mind when placing your overhead mic. You CANNOT just place the mics 4 feet apart on top of the kit. That would give you the kick in the center and the snare off to the right. Placement is as follows: Looking down on the kit from above, draw an imaginary line directly through the kick and the snare. Now place your overheads on each side of this imaginary line. You'll find in most situations that the right overhead is towards the front of the kit and the left overhead is behind the kit. When placing the mics like this, you can pan them hard right and left and still have the kick and snare in the center. There are other methods - xy, mid/side, etc that provide good stereo imagery. The method described will definitely work.
This is a huge topic and I hope we all learn from it. I'm not professing to be an expert, but I am professing to have experience. The stuff I've shared is what works for me. If you try any of it and it helps you to get a better recording, then I have accomplished my goal.
